Today we’d like to introduce you to Gus Fernandes.
Gus, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Brazil as a top national junior player in the country and a top 10 junior player in the world participating in the US Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Then I was recruited to play college for LSU where I was ranked top 5 NCAA player. I also played in the pro tour before graduating from college in 1997 and moving to Chicago where I worked in corporate America for near 10 years. In my years working in corporate America I groomed my business skills and quickly identified a huge demand for an all integrated tennis program for players wanting to play college and professional.
There is no place under one roof that we can find academic, mental, fitness and tennis training integrated and with qualified instructors with proven playing and coaching background
So I started FTA, Fernandes Tennis Academy in 2013 after frustrated attempts of tennis partnerships with clubs in the area that did not share the quality and long term vision of creating a sustainable tennis training center. Mainly because the majority of clubs have a very different business model then the one I was trying to implement.
In 2014 my partners and I decided to build a brand new tennis center, with everything needed to train tennis players instead of renting tennis space and piecing together the mental (I do the mental training myself along with coaching High Performance), fitness and tennis training. Eola Tennis Academy was born as a full-service tennis club. ETA not only serves high performance athletes but all ages from 4-95 year old players, levels from recreational to college, and fitness.
However, our core business is college prep high performance tennis, fitness and mental training (I wrote the book, Think to Win – Mental Toughness for Tennis Game which serves as guide to our mental training)
Our core business:
WE ARE A PROFESSIONAL TENNIS ACADEMY DETERMINED TO CREATE COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL LEVEL ATHLETES FROM AN EARLY AGE. WE STRIVE TO EXPAND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR PLAYERS BY REMOVING RESTRICTIONS AND OVERCOMING CHALLENGES. SUCESS IS GUARANTEED AT ALL AGES AND LEVELS WITH THE RIGHT SKILLS, SUPPORT AND DRIVE.
ETA is a starting point for great tennis players. We welcome players from all ages and levels that have the passion and desire to achieve local and national tennis recognition.
We believe that by providing the right support to those who want to work, sweat, and constantly challenge themselves, our players will go on to achieve top-level ranks, as well as recognition by top colleges and tennis competitions.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As usual, nothing that is worth doing comes easy. Until 2013, there was contracts broken by clubs trying to cut me off, outrageous prohibitive rental renewals after locations seeing our success, fierce competition for indoor club members and the insane bureaucracy of building our indoor training center.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
ETA is the only tennis academy in the Midwest that offers an exclusive opportunity to pursue academic studies while doing tennis, mental and fitness training, in a personalized integrated manner, to become an elite player.
Our coaches and staff are family. So are our players. We work hard as staff and members by helping each other to grow and reach new goals. I personally train my staff, have staff meetings in my home where everyone knows not only myself but wife and kids. We have periodical team building parties at one of our players home where coaches, families and players build trust and get to know one another. We are a true family and take care of our own. I live tennis and take ETA members and staff very serious, with pride and responsibility of making each other not only better tennis players but better individuals.
What were you like growing up?
I was great student, love my mom and dad and also close to my extended family. My sister was also a top world athlete. She was a gymnast. This made our house hold to be athlete friendly, with right food, fitness conscious and very goal oriented. I love soccer, auto racing (my dad was a race driver and crazy me came along many times to off road races at young age) and I was also a national level competitive swimmer until age of 9 when I turn full time tennis player.
Contact Info:
- Address: Eola Tennis Academy
2390 South Eola Road,
Aurora, IL 60503 - Website: www.eolatennis.com
- Phone: (630) 534-0484
- Email: gus@eolatennis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/912562135528417/eola-tennis-academy/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Eolatennis/
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/eolatennis?lang=en
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/qTKq/jqJWeXHqyF
Image Credit:
Hanna Choi
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